It is increasingly important that a physician or surgeon delivering substances, such as drugs, is able to efficiently and accurately locate the desired target tissue for effective delivery of the substance. This is particularly true when the concentration of the substance required at the target site cannot be safely or effectively achieved by introduction of the substance to a location remote from the target site. Moreover, the physician may only want to treat the diseased portion of an organ or tissue and avoid treating the healthy portions.
Such localized treatment is necessary not only for substance delivery but also for other treatments, including myocardial revascularization. Myocardial revascularization is a procedure in which “holes” are formed in ischemic ventricular tissue in order to increase blood flow to the treated area. It is thought that the tissue damage (e.g., holes) encourages growth of blood vessels in the treated area. Similar to substance delivery, myocardial revascularization is a procedure that is preferably performed only on specific areas that require treatment.
One common target site is the left ventricle of the human heart. The left ventricle is particularly important since the left ventricle supplies blood to the entire body with the exception of the lungs. Thus, if the left ventricle is compromised, a patient will become very ill and may possibly die. The severity of the diseases of the left ventricle coupled with the importance of localized diagnosis and treatment within the left ventricle render the ability to effectively and accurately access specific portions of the left ventricle extremely important.